To recline my seat in the airplane tonight ?

[Redeyeflight]

We are flying from Boston and Dh told me I’m not allowed to recline my seat on our night flight ? We are on economy and flying with BA. I don’t fly often so not sure about the etiquette. I mean if it was a day flight I wouldn’t recline but a night one ? Everyone would want to ?

Sorry - my post above was in agreement with @EasternStandard

I’m another one who doesn’t understand why the seat being reclined makes the person behind uncomfortable 🫤 the telly is now about 3 inches closer than it was before. But that’s about it? I find it hard to get stuff in and out my bag etc with or without the seat reclined!

Reclinable seats are on the way out for shirt/mid haul cheap options anyway and with space more at a premium than before starting to not be as popular and common.

what worked on transatlantic 747 doesn’t so much on newer stock

Ha
Maybe a few posters here would join but yeh

I am a ba flight attendant

I would refuse to any requests to ask someone to move their seat forward (happens all the time!) my reply would be you also have the ability to recline your seat.

The only exception would be during the meal service.

Why does your husband get a say in it? Controlling much?

I think it's fine to recline during a long haul night flight. A short flight, it's rude.

How long is your nose???

I think once the meals have been served and the lights have been put out indicating that it's 'bed time' then it's fine.

The internet is another planet on this topic. In real life it's fine to recline at any time except during meal times, takeoff and landing - and that's what any flight attendant will say if asked.

If you recline then it impacts my health condition so.......who wins??

Singapore Airlines seem to recline quite far back. On recent flight the person in front of me reclined the second the cabin crew had finished their checks and sat down. It was so intrusive and meant it was really difficult to get out of my seat. It also meant my tray table was pretty much unusable. The amount of twisting I had to do resulted in me being in significant pain for weeks.

It is ok to recline your seat even on a day flight. Some airline (ryanair) doesnt let you recline them on short haul but most still let you.

it is only unconfortable for the person behind if they dint recline it.

once a jerk push my seat so hard that I hurt my teeth with my water bottle (i was drinking). Luckily the flight attendant saw it. The jerk behind me was told that what he did was unacceptable, that it is perfectly ok to recline ones seat and that he should do the same. He was also told that he had been warned and similar behaviour would not be tolerated.

so yes absolutely do recline but do it slowly.

Not if you're American. Aeroplane is the UK term, Americans use 'Airplane'.

How arrogant. It's almost as if not everyone has to be British on this forum? Especially with the OP flying from Boston it's very possible she's American, in which case airplane is perfectly normal.

Equally important. Which is why you don't make yourself more comfortable by making them less comfortable.

For those complaining about people reclining, please put your complaint to the airline industry. The seats are designed to be reclined during the day and night except at meal times. Just because it’s daylight it doesn’t mean that it is day for your fellow passenger. They might have been travelling for a number of hours already.

For some people, reclining the seat is the only option for them to travel comfortably. Your comfort doesn’t trump theirs when they are only doing what the airline provided.

Interestingly, I watched someone complain to the air steward about a fellow passenger reclining their seat an hour into the flight. The air steward advised the complainer that the other passenger was within their rights to recline their seat. Not once did I hear the air steward state that the recliner was rude, which is what I am hearing here.

Quite a few back problems are exacerbated by the upright position of the unreclined seat. Why should someone with a long-term health condition, possibly even disability, be in pain all flight just because the person behind them feels that the seat back isn't far enough away?

Anyone who reclines into me, day or night, gets regular thumps in the back. Oops. It's so selfish!

Ah, one rule for thee and another for me huh? They can't recline because it makes you uncomfortable, but you're allowed to be a jerk and make them uncomfortable..

Day or night, recline is fine outside of mealtimes. Especially on a long flight, a little bit of recline is much more comfortable if you're sitting down for a long period, just do it gently so they have room to move their laptop if it's out on the tray table.

I can see that looking at the top of someone's head might feel a bit awkward, but the seats recline for a reason, and there's nothing wrong with the person in front doing it.

And give them a heads up before you do

Of course you should recline.

I bet your DH will do the same.

As pp said, do upcline at meal times. And make sure you tell the person in front to upcline if they haven’t at mealtime.

The average recline is 5” at the top of the seat. The bottom of the seat doesn’t move. Some people need to get a grip!

Ask them to derecline whilst you get in and out, in the same way that you'd ask the aisle seat person to get up to let you out.

Maybe I've been lucky on all the flights I've been on that seats don't go back that much. I've never had my (fairly long) legs crushed. Never had a tv touch my nose. Never had my tray table unusable. And IF I felt I didn't have enough space when the person in front reclined, I'd just recline myself to gain it back. This is as far as I notice plane seats going back whenever I've travelled. It really doesnt cause me any major issues.

YANBU

I don’t think seats in economy can recline anymore, which must save a lot of arguments. This has been my recent experience on short haul flights anyway. May be different for long haul but they tend to be a bit more spacious.

Ask them to derecline whilst you get in and out, in the same way that you'd ask the aisle seat person to get up to let you out.

I did. They ignored me. It was a fun 14 hour flight...........